Battery pack and vehicle including battery pack

Abstract

A battery pack includes a plurality of battery cells, a pack case partitioning an interior volume into a plurality of accommodation spaces capable of accommodating at least portions of the plurality of battery cells, a cooling mat disposed to contact upper surfaces of the plurality of battery cells inside the pack case, and an air cushion disposed perpendicular to the cooling mat and mounted to inner walls of the pack case along a front and rear direction.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A battery pack, comprising:
 a plurality of battery cells arranged in a stack and electrically connected to each other through electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells and a bus bar; 
 a pack case defining an interior volume and partitioning the interior volume into a plurality of accommodation spaces, each accommodation space capable of accommodating at least a portion of a respective one of the plurality of battery cells; 
 a cooling mat disposed to contact upper surfaces of the plurality of battery cells positioned inside the pack case; and 
 an air cushion oriented perpendicularly to the cooling mat and positioned along inner walls of the pack case in a front and rear direction, 
 wherein the cooling mat includes a mat body extending in first and second perpendicular directions and contacting the upper surfaces of the plurality of battery cells, and a cooling channel formed in the mat body and configured to receive a flow of a cooling liquid therein, the mat body including a gas therein configured to buffer an external impact, and 
 wherein the electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells extend through the cooling mat in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. 
 
     
     
       2. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the pack case includes: 
 a base plate; 
 a front plate connected to a front side of the base plate; 
 a rear plate disposed opposite to the front plate and connected to a rear side of the base plate; 
 a pair of side plates connected to the base plate between the rear plate and the front plate, the pair of side plates being spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along a width direction, the width direction being orthogonal to the front and rear direction; and 
 a partition plate configured to partition the volume defined between the pair of side plates to define the accommodation spaces, the partition plate positioned between the front plate and the rear plate in the front and rear direction. 
 
     
     
       3. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the mat body is made of rubber material. 
 
     
     
       4. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the mat body has a gas injection hole defined therein to inject the gas into the mat body. 
 
     
     
       5. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the mat body has a venting hole unit for discharging the gas from the mat body when the gas is at a predetermined pressure or above. 
 
     
     
       6. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the air cushion has a gas injection hole for injecting a predetermined amount of gas into the air cushion. 
 
     
     
       7. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the air cushion has a venting hole unit for discharging the gas from the air cushion when the gas is at a predetermined pressure or above. 
 
     
     
       8. The battery pack according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the air cushion is made of a rubber material. 
 
     
     
       9. A vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack according to  claim 1 .